A Study of Grade 7 Students’ Perception and Ability to Understand Word Problem through Learning Activities that Promote the Use of Diverse Strategies in Solving Word Problems Involving One-Variable Linear Equations
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Abstract
The purposes of this research were: 1) to investigate the students’ perceptions of using problem-solving strategies to understand mathematical problems, and 2) to study their ability to understand word problems after participating in learning activities designed to promote the use of diverse problem-solving strategies, specifically on one-variable linear equations. The participants were 34 students from Mathayomsuksa 1/1 at Phakhai “Sutthapramuk” School, located in Phakhai District, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, during the second semester of the 2024 academic year. The research instruments included lesson plans and a problem-solving ability test on word problems involving one-variable linear equations. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics—percentage, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation—while qualitative data were examined through content analysis.
The finding revealed that 1) students applied simplifying the problem strategy when they could not immediately formulate relationships from the problem’s conditions, by substituting values that aligned with the given conditions to reduce complexity. The drawing of a diagram strategy was used to problems involving comparisons or geometric contexts to support concrete understanding of relationships. Using a table strategy was employed in problems with large amounts of data to help organize information. Moreover, for complex problems with multiple conditions, students often combined more than one strategy to better understand the problem and 2) there was 73.53 percent of students whose ability to understand word problems was at good and very good levels.
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